“The child by reason of his physical and mental immaturity, needs special safeguards and care, including appropriate legal protection, before as well as after birth” UN Convention on the Rights of the Child

Thursday, November 15, 2012

Proposed legal challenge to referendum result

Kathy Sinnott writes We are working on mounting a challenge to the recent referendum. Ideally we would establish that the result was not valid.

In pursuing a serious legal challenge we can, even if we don't achieve the ideal, at least achieve fairer more balanced referendums in the future, giving us a fighting chance of counter those that areobjectionable.

The government has a string of referendums lined up, anti-sovereignty, anti life, anti-family, anti-democracy, anti-religious It is now obvious that even in the face of a serious threat to children and the family, we can no longer count on an organised, properly funded opposition to mount a NO campaign. Yet we have seen that voters respond given even a minimum of opposition providing true information.

Any challenge to the recent referendum must happen in the next few days.

For this we need:1. Money. The referendum petition fee is 5,000 punts and a pro bono legal team will need funds upfront to commission expert opinions to support the legal arguments. These funds must be identified this week if the case is to go ahead. Our request is that people will pledge whatever they can immediately and should the challenge proceed honour those pledges over the next two weeks. Should costs be awarded at the end of the challenge, we hope that donations can be returned.

2. Active participation. Information gathering and analysis, already some of you are gathering evidence and extracting important lessons and patterns from it.

3. Prayers and Support!

Given the McCrystal decision and the strength of the arguments that are emerging, we can challenge the referendum with a reasonable expectation of some level of success. The alternative, not trying, isto hand over the constitution to government and let them do what they like, when they like, with it.

Pat Buckley

I was born in Galway, Ireland where I attended first Scoil Fhursa and then St Ignatius (Jesuit) College. My family moved to Cork in 1960 and I spent my last year at the Christian Brothers College in Mc Curtain street Cork (CBC).

I came to Dublin in 1963 where I met and married my wife Philomena. We have lived in Dublin since then and have been blessed with seven children and 17 grandchildren (so far). When I finished school I studied architecture through the professional institutions and I am a retired Member of the Royal Institute of Architects of Ireland (MRIAI). I also hold a BSc. in psychology and political philosophy.

I currently lobby pro-life and pro-family issues at the United Nations in New York and Geneva and occasionally at the European Parliament and Council of Europe. I am a member of the pro-life, pro-family coalition operating within the international institutions and I am a consultant to the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children SPUC on UN and related matters.

Between 1978-85, as a married couple Philomena and I were involved in the presentation of Marriage Encounter Weekends and pre-marriage courses. We also represented Worldwide Marriage Encounter on a committee for the family in the Dublin Archdiocese. Between 1985-1988. I was appointed National Secretary and then President of the Catholic Secondary Schools Parents Association (CSPA). I have been lobbying pro-life issue at the UN for upwards of 12 years.

I am a past President of the National Association of Catholic Families (NACF)

Publications:

1997: Anthology of pro-life verse

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